"Mummy's Little Princess" (Nature)
In the wine cellar, all the soldiers appeared to be discussing something in French. “Celeste, what are they talking about?” Elliot tried to use English as basically as he could. “Sacrifice,” She responded with one word. Olivia tugged Elliot, “No, we can’t. We can’t let them go up there! They’ll get slaughtered!” He agreed with her anyway, “I know. Celeste,” he got her attention, “Tell them this is… bad! Bad idea!” Again, he stuck with basic English. “It is their choice. Their choice is to sacrifice.” Hearing it put like that, he couldn’t really argue, “Olivia, I think they want to die for Celeste. Who are we to stop them from doing that?” She shook her head, “You can’t seriously be letting them go ahead with this, right? Elliot?” He didn’t answer. One of the soldiers said something in French to Celeste, pointing at Elliot and Olivia. “Remember the names Abel, Sebastian and Langley,” she translated. Olivia stood up, “No! Don’t do this! You can’t! Please!” The three men stood up. As she tried to block the stairs, they gently moved her aside. Readying their swords, they banged against the door. Elliot believed they were asking Seymour to unbolt it. Abel turned around to Celeste, giving her an instruction. “With me, please,” Celeste gestured for Elliot and Olivia to follow her. In the enclosure, the door was now fully raised. Oddly however, nothing came out of the room behind. “Get in,” Pierre commanded, prompting everyone to gasp. There were French and English whispers all around. Swallowing his pride, Foxtrot obeyed, slipping into the small room behind the hatch. It closed again, with him inside. “Pierre, what are you playing at?” Zach asked him, “You’ll see…” Both Andy and Annabelle had waited next to Gwen for her to wake up. But Annabelle knew who Andy was really worried about, “He’ll be ok. He will.” He remained silent, partly out of disbelief, but also out of shame for snapping at her earlier on. Finally, someone came round – except it was Sierra, the least important one. “Hang on, I’ve got you,” Erica tended to her. “Drink,” she loaned her water bottle to her. As Sierra guzzled it, she nodded appreciatively at Erica. Annabelle however wasn’t as generous, instead pulling a gun out and aiming it at her, “Hello again bitch,” She primed the gun, “What happened?” Still laying down, she raised her hands up in the best way she could. “Put the gun down Annabelle,” Erica tried to push her arm away – she was doing a lot of subtly defusing people today. Putting the gun back on her side, she grabbed Sierra and pulled her up, “What… Happened?” Abel, Sebastian and Langley kicked the door, knocking bolts and locks off of it, busting it down eventually. Noticing Seymour being overwhelmed, they all charged to help him, sending their swords directly through the warriors. “My warriors,” Seymour caught his breath, then resorted to French again. Whatever he said was clearly motivational, as they all cheered, charging outside. There were two squadrons of Sinners on either side, splitting into pairs, they rushed both groups at the same time. “Stay with me!” Celeste guided Elliot and Olivia through the tunnels. “Where are we going?” Elliot asked her, “A boat!” Again, she responded in basic English. “A boat?” Elliot and Olivia looked at each other, “Wait, what if she’s taking us away from here? We can’t leave our friends behind!” Elliot reminded her, but she had realised everyone had pretty much left them already, “Well Gwen and Tina went to England, we haven’t seen Annabelle’s group for a long time, and Reed’s a chip off the old block. We’re only really leaving Pierre and Zach behind; we hardly know them anyway.” Elliot stopped her from proceeding, “The only reason why we can even have this conversation right now is because of Zach. It’s also clear Celeste is close with him. Even if she thinks he can handle himself, I’m not leaving that boy alone in that base.” Celeste noticed that they had stopped, “Stay with me please!” Elliot looked at Olivia, “Go with her.” As Elliot went to head back, Olivia grabbed him, “Are you mad? You’ll never make it back there! The sinners will kill you Elliot!” Without any notice, he pulled Olivia in and kissed her affectionately, “Trust me.” With that kiss and those not very reassuring words, he headed back. Celeste had caught on to what Elliot was doing, “Olivia. He is going to be ok. Stay with me!” She looked back at him, “I trust you,” She whispered, then followed after Celeste. After around an hour had passed, Gwen came around. “Mum! It’s me, I’m here! I’m really here!” Annabelle gave her the water bottle. She tried to speak Annabelle’s name, but the sound of her breathing drowned out her whispers. “Come on, sit up,” she rested her mother against a rock. “Andy as well, finally…” Still, her breathing drowned out her whispering. “Where’s Vincent?” Andy went straight in with the inquisition. “Excuse me Andy, she’s just woke up again,” Annabelle looked appalled by him. “It’s… It’s ok,” Gwen stroked her daughter’s arm. Clearing her throat, she prepared her answer. Elliot snuck back into the base using the same route Zach had given him; only in reverse. Oddly, everyone who noticed him didn’t really seem to care that he was sneaking around. Arriving at Pierre’s bunker, he desperately knocked on the door. Opening it, Pierre let him in. “Elliot? Why have you come back?” Zach was also in the bunker, “We need to leave right now. Seymour’s group, they’ve engaged battle with the Sinners. I have a plan, but I need you two to help me.” They looked at each other, “What do you want us to do?” “Vincent became...” Gwen tried to find the most appropriate word, “Corrupt.” Andy didn’t understand what she meant, “Corrupt? What do you mean?” She looked at him daringly, “I think you know what I mean, you just can’t accept it. Him shooting Olivia was only the beginning.” She drank more of the water, “He was like a wild animal. At least from what Elliot tells me anyway,” Annabelle intruded on the conversation, “You’ve seen Elliot? He’s alive?” She nodded, “Elliot, Olivia, Reed, all three of them made it.” Annabelle breathed a sigh of relief, but Andy had caught on to two things, “From what Elliot tells you? What do you mean by that? And you said Elliot, Olivia and Reed made it, why have you not mentioned Vincent?” She looked at him partly remorsefully, but also partly with a look of justice, “That’s because Vincent didn’t make it Andy. I’m sorry.” He stood up, placing his hands on his hips, bowing his head. “How?” They didn’t understand what he was asking, “How did it happen?” Gwen drank more of the water again, “There was a, test. That’s how these people refer to it. They’re not really the Government you see; they just act as one.” Andy turned around aggressively, “Stop digressing Gwen. I’ll ask you again: How did he die?” She nodded slowly, “He was put in a test with Elliot. Only one of them could make it out alive. Vincent was like a rabid animal, he was vindictive. Elliot did what he had to, like with all unnecessarily vicious animals, he put him down.” Andy put his hands over his head, “I knew it. Who else could it of possibly been?” Andy noticed Sierra and Erica watching. “You,” He pulled out his pistol on Sierra, “This was the fault of your crazy crew! Your stupid tests caused my friend’s death!” Annabelle stayed next to her mum. Erica had given up with defusing situations today by this point. “Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t just kill you right now!” Sierra was panicking with her hands up, “Please don’t do it. Ok, I’m sorry about your friend. I can’t bring him back. But I can take you to the man who killed him. We’re back in France now, I can navigate us all the way back to the airfield! It’s a bit of a trek, but I can get us there. I promise.” He kept the pistol out, his face extremely cross, “Nah. I bet you told a similar lie to Vincent. You’ll probably kill all of us the moment we reach the city.” Sierra lowered his hands, “I won’t. I promise. If I was going to kill you, I’d do it right here.” Looking down from her, he prepared to fire the gun. Ultimately, he restrained himself, lowering it fully. Sierra breathed a sigh of relief, but Andy still glared at her intensely. “I must say, this motorbike plan is actually a better idea than I gave you credit for,” Pierre remarked. “You sure you can outrun them?” Elliot made sure, as Pierre nodded back. “So, here’s the plan: Zach, you get the Sinners’ attention, then Pierre, you zoom off on your motorbike towards me, then I will lead them into the trap. Clear?” They both nodded, “Excellent. Let’s do this.” Seymour and his warriors were struggling to hold out against the Sinners. It was as though more of them just kept showing up. Seymour was at last bested by one of his opponents, his sword flung away from him. As he got on his knees, he accepted defeat, reciting a French passage. His opponent raised Seymour’s own sword above him, preparing to bring it down. From behind him however, one of the war drums began again. Turning around, he noticed Zach banging against a drum on one of the dead Sinners’ chest. All of the Sinners turned away from Seymour’s warriors, roaring out and charging at him. Running at his top speed, Zach disappeared around the corner. “Pierre, you’ve got this!” Zach reassured him before sneaking into an alleyway between two buildings. He wished him luck in French. As the Sinners appeared from around the corner, Pierre revved up his motorbike, speeding off up the road. All of the warriors still mindlessly followed him. He reached an outdoor viewing deck, with Elliot standing at the end of it. “They’re really fast these guys! You have about thirty seconds Elliot,” He breathed in and nodded, “Just get behind that bush Pierre,” Looking back at the Sinners, he wasted no time and hid himself behind the bushes. The Sinners stopped at the motorbike, demolishing it with their weapons. Turning to their left, they noticed Elliot balancing himself on top of the railings. “Just like Celeste said: Sacrifice.” Hearing what Elliot just said, Pierre realised why he had not been told this part of the plan. The warriors laughed crazily, then they all launched themselves at him. Elliot closed his eyes, as they all unknowingly threw themselves off the cliff behind the outdoor viewing deck, taking Elliot down with them as well… As far as Pierre saw. What he had not noticed was that Elliot had attached himself to a makeshift harness, the rope tied around a tree. As the Sinners continued to jump to try and slash Elliot’s harness, he merely swung back and forth as they all fell. Once they were all over the cliff, Pierre jumped out of the bushes, confused. Elliot smiled quirkily at him, “Did you enjoy the show?” Pierre’s confused expression turned to a light smirk, “Don’t suppose you could help me out of this harness could you? This thing’s bloody tight!” They both laughed. Annabelle helped her mum get on her feet. “Alright, let’s go, now please,” Andy was eager to get to the government base. Just like Elliot, Annabelle could read people; reading Andy, she understood his eagerness now. “The look on your face,” She examined it closely, “That’s a look of vengeance. Wait…” Her eyes widened, “Mum!” She recalled her. “What? What is it sweetie?”, “Andy is going to ''kill ''Elliot…” At once, Gwen raised her pistol at him. Again, Sierra and Erica watched from a distance. “Are you serious, Gwen? You’ve known me ever since before the apocalypse began, and now you’re going to shoot me? For someone you barely even know?” She wasn’t deterring at all, “I haven’t seen you for an entire year. In that time, I’ve worked closely with Elliot. The man has a dark past, but he redeemed himself. He resolved one of our biggest problems too: Vincent.” Andy shivered at that remark and reached for his own pistol, but didn’t pull it out. “Gwen, I’ve looked after your daughter. While you were wherever you were, I’ve looked after her. We even had fishing competitions dammit! How can you pull a gun on me now?” Again, Gwen showed no signs of deterrence, “I can’t let Elliot die because of you. I miss you, Andy. I still do. I always hoped to see you and my daughter again, every day for the past year. But now I see it, the Andy I knew is no more. Now all I see is a dummy, and Vincent’s the dead ventriloquist operating you.” Both of them had watery eyes, “Gwen, I’m right here. Look at me,” Now, she began to shake and deter, “The Andy I knew, the real Andy, he worked with the emergency services in the old days; he saved lives. You on the other hand, you’re planning on taking one. Even though Vincent’s dead he’s still your puppeteer. I’m so sorry, I can’t let that man control our lives anymore!” Tears rolled down both of their eyes, “Gwen, please…” He begged for his life. “I can’t do it,” Gwen dropped her pistol, yet again. Andy breathed a premature sigh of relief, as he winced deeply just seconds later. Looking down, a knife had been inserted into his chest – by Annabelle. Gwen was completely frozen in shock, unable to stop her daughter. Annabelle twisted the knife, causing Andy to wince again. “You were right,” Her voice was croaky, but she wasn’t as tearful as the other two, “I’m not mummy’s little princess – not anymore.” She pulled the knife out of his chest, as he cupped the wound. He was too weak to apply any pressure, and therefore the blood seeped out from under his hands. “I… forgive… you…” Andy gagged, before staggering back. “Bye now,” He gagged out again, closing his eyes, and then falling off the coast. Now, Gwen cried and wailed eerily. Her daughter leant down to comfort her, but Gwen pushed her away. She couldn’t interpret what her mum was saying amongst her wailing and tears. Her mother’s rejection of her however did indeed cause her to tear up. “Mum, please…” Gwen covered her face, crying into her hands. She completely ignored her daughter… - Death of Andy. *Andy is the third main character to die. The first is Steven, and the second is Vincent. *As of his death, only 3 out of 5 characters from the "Pilot" chapter are still alive: Elliot, Gwen and Annabelle. -This chapter acts as a sort of "Mid-season finale" for the second series / book. -The title is a direct reference to Annabelle's nickname from when she was a toddler. The title is ironic, as Annabelle is far from being "Mummy's Little Princess" anymore.